Michelle Leary’s final meeting as Interim Town Manager ended with a new title and a solidified $21,783,000 borrowing request for the proposed Public Safety Building. Chair Gina Steino closed the session by announcing Leary’s permanent appointment to the position, noting, Congratulations on your new position, Michelle. Michelle is now our new Town Manager. Mark Maji, who arrived later in the meeting after coaching a youth baseball game, added that the appointment was awesome news for the town.

The committee spent much of the evening refining the financial figures that residents will see at the upcoming Town Meeting. Leary clarified that while the total project cost for the 135 King Street facility sits at $32,183,000, the town is only seeking to authorize $21,783,000 in new borrowing. This figure accounts for $5 million in previously authorized but unissued debt and $2.4 million already spent on the building purchase. Leary told the committee that the tax calculator on the town website has a figure of $23 million because we didn't have these figures when it was built. So the calculator is actually higher than what you're going to be voting on.

Procedural friction surfaced regarding Article 24, a citizen’s petition seeking to ban certain gas-powered landscaping equipment. The petitioner recently narrowed the scope from a wholesale ban to a seasonal restriction between May 15 and September 15. Because the Advisory Committee had already voted against the original version, members expressed concern that the Town Meeting warrant might misrepresent their position. Courtney Murphy noted the confusion, stating, It's a little confusing because it says Advisory Committee recommendation here, but this isn't what we voted on. Mike Barklay questioned the validity of the late change, asking, Was this change submitted after the warrant was closed? Then why is it even up for consideration?

Mark Maji argued against simply removing the committee’s negative recommendation from the printed materials, suggesting that it seems like they didn't like how we voted so they changed it to make it sound like we didn't vote on it. We largely voted against something very similar to this. To resolve the discrepancy, the committee plans to hold a brief meeting immediately prior to Town Meeting to formally record a vote on the revised language. Leary agreed that the situation required a fix, saying, I don't disagree with you and so we'll rectify this.

The committee also moved to correct a clerical error in the Water Enterprise Fund budget. Mark Cameron sought clarification on why the figures had shifted since the previous month, asking, So we voted the incorrect number weeks ago based on the budget we were given by the water commission? Leary confirmed the initial figures provided by the commission required a $110,000 reduction to match the final warrant. Motion Made by M. Cameron to approve the Water Enterprise Fund grand total of $5,959,488 for Appendix A. Motion Passed (5-0), with V. Thornton, M. Barklay, C. Murphy, and G. Steino in favor.

Regarding Article 8, the town’s capital improvements plan, Mike Barklay raised questions about how interest on debt would be handled for major projects. The total cost reflected includes interest or are you just reflecting the principal payments here? Barklay asked. Leary explained that interest payments would be integrated into the operating budget once the money is actually borrowed. Barklay committed to coordinating with the Capital Budget Committee to ensure the Advisory Committee is prepared to present the article to voters. Vince Thornton and other members also approved several sets of past meeting minutes to clear the administrative backlog before the legislative session begins.